Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued new guidelines in July that prohibited dual agency in Federal Housing Authority (FHA) short sales; however, after pressure from the National Association of Realtors, HUD announced it has postponed the dual agency guidelines, according to an article in Inman News September 26, 2013

The new rules, revealed through a letter to mortgage servicers in July, were suppose to take effect October 1, 2013 and would have prohibited brokers and agents from representing both buyers and sellers in FHA short sales. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) opposed the new guidelines. HUD's new, now postponed, guidelines state, "To meet [Pre-foreclosure Sales] Addendum requirements, brokers and their agents may only represent the buyer or the seller, but not both parties."

Homeowners aren't the only people to benefit from a tax break for forgiven mortgage debt that was set to expire December 31, 2012, but was extended by Congress and President Obama when they narrowly averted the “fiscal cliff” crisis.